Elmira the Candle Lady (Part One)
“Brrr!” Lou Lou buttoned up her coat as they walked down the block. The October day had been sunny and warm when they left Lucky Alley. But outside the candle shop, the wind picked up and Lou Lou’s golden-brown curls whipped around her face.
The tiny candle shop was nestled between Manny’s Bodega and Chilly Refrigerator Repair. The candle shop’s official name was La Fortuna Candle Emporium, but everyone just called it the candle shop. An unremarkable building with faded paint, it was not much to look at from the outside. Still, the flames that danced in the window promised intrigue and warm memories. Lou Lou and Pea had spent many afternoons in the shop listening to Elmira’s stories and advice. Lou Lou read aloud the shop’s paper sign that she’d seen countless times: “SE VENDE LUZ Y SUERTE.”
“We certainly need light and luck today to help Magdalena,” Pea said.
A bell chimed overhead as Lou Lou and Pea entered the store. They were greeted by the aroma of smoldering incense and candles that smelled of jasmine, vanilla, and hot chilies. The candles, which were tall pillars flickering in glass holders, brightened the otherwise dark shop. They were every color of the rainbow and various shades in between, and they were decorated with writing and images. Lou Lou liked all the candle hues. But blue was Pea’s signature color, as it matched her eyes and her name. She loved the candles that ranged from the light blue of a robin’s egg to the dark blue of the early-night sky.
While they waited for Elmira to emerge from the back room, Lou Lou moved along one of the shelves, running her fingers over the smooth rims of the candleholders. Each candle made a different promise in pictures and Spanish words. Many of the words were still unfamiliar to Lou Lou, but she knew that the silver Buena Suerte candle, with its picture of a horseshoe, was for good luck. And the red Amor candle, with the heart, was for love. She paused at a yellow candle that showed a smiling face and read Buena Salud.
“Good salad? Why would anyone need a good salad candle?” Lou Lou held it up for Pea to see. Her best friend smiled.
“Salud means health, not salad.”
“Oh, right,” Lou Lou said. She hoped that someday she would speak Spanish as well as Pea. Pea was fluent because her mother, who was Mexican, spoke Spanish at home. Lou Lou wandered over to the green candle on the shop’s counter. The dollar sign on the holder gave the meaning away—Riqueza, wealth.
“¡Hola, niñas!” Lou Lou and Pea heard Elmira’s scratchy voice before they saw her face. The Candle Lady appeared through the curtain behind the counter.
Elmira had been selling candles for as long as Lou Lou could remember. Nearly everyone in the neighborhood relied on the Candle Lady to grant wishes and cure ailments, including Lou Lou and Pea. Elmira always lent a sympathetic ear to her customers and recommended appropriate candles. But Lou Lou and Pea visited Elmira even when they had no need for a candle. They loved the Candle Lady’s mysterious ways and they valued her wisdom and advice. She was always interested in problems and ready to cheer on accomplishments.
“How are things with you two? ¿Están bien?” Elmira asked. She was short and squat, and appeared older than Lou Lou’s parents but younger than her grandparents. She favored gauzy garments and robes that she draped over herself in creative ways. Today she wore swaths of maroon silk.
“Muy bien, Elmira. ¿Y usted?” Lou Lou replied. Pea nodded at Lou Lou’s Spanish, and Lou Lou felt a twinge of pride.
“Bien, gracias,” said the Candle Lady. “It is always lovely to see you both. But I gather you are here today for my help with un problema.”
Elmira seemed to know when people were just browsing for something they might need. In those cases, she would chat for a bit and then recommend a basic purple Felicidad candle to bring happiness. But Elmira could also tell when customers wanted something specific—the right candle to cure a cold or get a good grade in math. Elmira was so talented, she often made appropriate suggestions before customers began their tales of hope or woe. Sometimes she even helped people with problems they didn’t know they had. Lou Lou, hoping to learn a few psychic tricks, had asked Elmira how she came to have her mystic knowledge. Elmira had simply answered, “Tengo la intuición.” I have the intuition.
Now Elmira pointed to the dress in Pea’s arms. “For a quinceañera, Peacock Pearl? Not yours, I presume. Cinco años más before you’re fifteen. But it looks like you’re left dealing with a destroyed-dress disaster!”
“It’s her prima Magdalena’s dress,” Lou Lou replied. “Can you help, Elmira? Thomas at Sparkle ’N Clean says it’s ruined and the quinceañera is on Sunday!”
“I am so sorry for Magdalena!” Elmira said. “Sí, you did the right thing by coming to me. I recommend a Belleza candle to ensure that she finds a suitable new dress and looks beautiful on her big day.” Elmira pulled from the shelf a pink candle with a picture of a woman holding a mirror.
“I’ll take it. Gracias, Elmira,” Pea said, then handed Lou Lou the dress so she could find money in her pocket.
Lou Lou admired her best friend’s generosity as Pea shelled out half her allowance for her cousin’s candle.
“Next time, send your prima here before troubles befall her so I can make certain she is protected. After all, prevention is the best remedy for misfortune.”
“Voy a recordar que.” Pea agreed to remember Elmira’s suggestion. “Maybe you should get a candle for your garden,” she said to Lou Lou. “I know you’ve had a bountiful year, but just to make sure that you win the Hello Horticulture! Society top honor.”
“That’s right!” Elmira clapped her hands and her eyes shone. “You are slated to win a camellia competition, Lou Lou Bombay. What fantastic flower fortune! Perhaps consider this one.” Elmira pointed to a green candle. Its glass holder had a flower on it and the word Crecer. “It will help you avoid horrible horticulture hurdles.”
“It means ‘to grow,’” Pea translated.
“A candle for my garden is a good idea, Pea, but Pinky is already a blue-ribbon shoo-in,” Lou Lou said. “Thanks anyway, Elmira. It’s nice of you to recommend something.” Lou Lou remembered to be polite, like Pea was always telling her.
“Of course,” replied the Candle Lady, reaching across the counter to squeeze Lou Lou’s hand. “Hasta luego, niñas, and please give my best wishes to Magdalena!”
“¡Adiós!” Lou Lou and Pea replied as they closed the shop door behind them.
“We had better head home so I can explain this to my mother.” Pea took the stained dress back from Lou Lou.
“It’s too bad Thomas couldn’t get the stain out,” Lou Lou said. “But Elmira was able to help with a candle, so at least the afternoon has a bright side!”
As they walked out into the waning sun, Lou Lou thought about the other bright side to the afternoon—Pinky’s beauty. Elmira was right, Lou Lou did have fantastic flower fortune. Once I win that ribbon, she thought, the horticulture world will know the name Lou Lou Bombay!